


Don't play the victim (when you're the one doing all the hurting)

by Publisher021



Series: Publisher021's Whumptober2019 [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bisexual Tony Stark, F/M, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Has Issues, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Steve Rogers is Not a Virgin, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:15:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Publisher021/pseuds/Publisher021
Summary: The humiliation burned through him, choking up in his throat and twisting around his gut. He felt absolutely ashamed of himself. God, he was so repulsive. To think that he had done that and was now trying to justify it by playing the one who was hurt. Steve was right, wasn't he? He had done the same thing to Steve, and Steve had gotten tired of it.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Sharon Carter/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Publisher021's Whumptober2019 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1508237
Comments: 23
Kudos: 70





	Don't play the victim (when you're the one doing all the hurting)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Day 5 of my Whumptober prompts. Prompt 25 - Humiliation. I hope you all enjoy. And yes, I will try to update sooner but it's like I have absolutely no energy or drive to update and post any works lately.

The arguing started at two in the morning. Granted, no one else on the team had heard anything yet, but when they asked JARVIS what time it _had_ started, the A.I. had informed them that it been going on for the better part of an hour.

And now the team had been crowded around the common room, each in various states of undress and all wearing similar looks of exhaustion.

If you counted the hour that they had been sitting in the common room, then it meant that the arguing had now reached its third hour, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. 

From the common room, they could hear what was being said. And the words that came flying out of their leaders' mouths like bullets, each one more poisonous and hurtful than the last, were borderline _horrendous_. 

This argument that Tony and Steve were now involved in was the worst one that they had ever overheard. 

And the fact that JARVIS had alerted them to what was going on between them was worrying.

Which meant that the A.I. anticipated that something was either about to go wrong, and that one or the other were about to go in for the kill (it used to be said teasingly, before, but now it sounded as if they really were going to kill one another) or that they were going to wreak havoc.

"So, since it's both yours and Barnes' best buddies in there, you two should go sort it out," Clint said tactlessly, breaking the silence that had now spread through the common room as the rest of the team listened to the argument that flowed through the vents from Tony's lab down below.

Rhodey and Bucky glared at him, and Natasha, who was calmly painting her toenails crimson, stopped what she was doing and scowled.

The fact that she was painting her toenails crimson was definitely an obvious show of the state of mind she was in, which was the one where she was extremely close to either strangling someone, or killing them and hiding the body so that nobody could find the remains. Also, she had just _scowled_.

Which, yeah, the entire team could agree with. To be woken up by an A.I. that, for all intents and purposes, was never supposed to do more than help people and greet them calmly and politely, it _wasn't_ calm.

No, JARVIS had sounded downright worried when he called the team down to the common room. And for an A.I. who had no emotions, he sure as hell sounded like a human then. 

To be fair, it was kind of confusing for the team to wake up and hear the sounds of their two leaders arguing. Not that the arguing was unusual. It wasn't, actually. Steve and Tony fought constantly.

What was unusual was that they were arguing at the asscrack of dawn. And the fact that they were arguing at all right now.

Because, Steve and Tony had seemed so buddy-buddy lately. And not in the sense that they were friendly with one another. No, they were almost-dating _close_.

In itself, that was pretty weird. The whole them being close situation. Because Tony and Pepper were broken up, but not properly broken up and Sharon seemed real flirty with Steve whenever they happened to bump into her on the Helicarrier. Which was rare - she worked for the CIA and didn't really affiliate herself with SHIELD anymore, not properly, at least - thank god for that.

So the fact that Steve and Tony were close with each other and seemed content to kiss each other whenever they wanted to, well, that was their own doing.

In the end, they were the ones who had to deal with it.

Unless, of course, it interfered with the team.

Like now, for instance.

***

"Give me a break, Tony! Why are you suddenly so obsessed with what Sharon has to do with me? Yes, I went out to dinner with her tonight. Does it concern you? No. Is it my business? Yes. Back. Off."

Steve's entire body language was tense, frustration and anger rolling off of him in waves.

His hair was all messed up from where he had pulled at it earlier and his face, which usually held a smile just for Tony, was closed off, sending a message that screamed 'unapproachable'.

"Obsessed? Steve, in case you weren't aware of what a relationship is about, it's between _two people,_ not me and you and then you and Sharon. And really, you aren't even a little bit ashamed to admit that you went out to dinner with her? I won't back off, Steve. I deserve at least a little more than that. Why did you go out with her? Were you just stringing me along? Or did you finally realize that what you needed was a woman to fuck?" Tony laughed bitterly, sneering at Steve when he said the last sentence.

Steve raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Really? Me, stringing _you_ along?" Steve asked, managing to sound slightly incredulous.

Tony's eyes widened before he glared, nostrils flaring in anger. If Steve was trying to rile him up, to anger him, then he was doing one hell of a job.

"You know, you're such a fucking dick. Of the two of us, people actually thought I was the type to cheat. Guess they were wrong, and that even America's Golden Boy can't resist the temptation of someone flirting with him. How absolutely sinful. The public would be up in arms if they knew."

Steve laughed, throwing his own hands in the air. It was ironic, considering what Tony had just said before.

Dum-E, who was in the corner of the lab, hiding from the two of them in fear, beeped shrilly.

In the back of his mind, Tony felt guilty, and then he realized that Dum-E was only a robot and he had more pressing things to deal with.

"Firstly, I wasn't cheating on you. It wasn't some affair if you knew about it, _Stark._ And secondly, I wasn't the one stringing you along. Is this not what you were planning on doing to me? Or did I get it wrong? Tell me, were you not the one who kissed me first, and then told me that nothing was going to come of it because you and Pepper were on a break? And then, not even two weeks later, you do it again. I'm sorry, did I imagine sleeping with you? Because I'm pretty sure the two of us messed around more than once. And Pepper, does she know about this? Does she know that I was nothing more than your little rebound fling?" Steve bit out harshly, each word sounding more and more bitter and hurtful as they fell out of his mouth.

Tony couldn't help but flinch, humiliation burning and spreading through his veins like hot lava. He felt guilty at the mention of Pepper, and the fact that he had used Steve as a rebound fling. At first (and yes, he knew that it was disgusting, but he needed a distraction and if Steve was willing to provide one, then he'll take it) he _had_ meant to use Steve like that, and it wasn't supposed to last all that long, really, not when he and Pepper were still sorting out things between them, but then he had fallen for Steve as time went on, and Steve was unaware of that little bit of information, if the fact that he went out to dinner with Sharon was anything to go by.

He and Pepper really were over by now. She had been staying in Malibu, and the fact that she hadn't called him back or made any effort to move back to the city was any indication, she wasn't looking to further their relationship, not now that he was in some sort of relationship with Steve.

Except, Steve didn't really want him like that, did he? Steve had just wanted him for a roll around in the hay, and he had gladly given it to him. But… he had done the same to Steve. Hadn't he? He'd used Steve, and he couldn't be upset about Steve returning the favour.

Steve could only look at Tony, blue eyes scrutinising his every move. For once in his life, Tony was silent, mouth not working against the barrage of words that caused humiliation to burn through him, travelling through his entire body until he felt like he couldn't breathe. Guilt seemed to be like it was along for the ride as well because he could feel it tugging at his heart, begging for him to say anything, to apologize and tell Steve the honest truth.

"I thought so. You have no right to tell me what to do when you were the one who planned to do the same thing to me."

Steve didn't say anything anything else, turning on his heel and walked out of theout the lab.

***

It was silent in the common room, everyone had just overheard the _entire_ story. And, well, they were shocked into silence, to say the least.

Maybe it wasn't such a great idea that the lab was beneath the common room.

Bucky looked heavenward, closing his eyes and breathing in and out slowly, looking for all his worth as though he were a parent that was tired of dealing with their child.

When he opened his eyes, he made contact with Rhodey, who looked just as unimpressed and incredulous as he himself was feeling before opening his mouth just to say: "Well, I'm not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. They can sort this one out themselves."

Sam, who had been sitting next to Thor, who, for once in his life was uncharacteristically silent - and maybe it was due to the huge box of Pop-Tarts that he was munching on - rolled his eyes and stood up. "Well, if none of you are going to do anything, I'm going back to bed," he said, shaking his head in disbelief before yawning.

Clint was the next to join. And then the remainder of the team filed out of the common room, each heading to their respective floors before passing out.

Steve and Tony could sort their own goddamn problems out.

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you all think. I know that I'm still new to Ao3, but lately I haven't had any inspiration to write anything. And I'd like to get at least some sort of feedback to tell me how I'm doing, because at times it just feels as though I'm writing a whole lot of nonsense.


End file.
